Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Mark Boling at YCELP on hydraulic fracking’s image problems



Mark Boling, President of V+ Development Solutions, a division of Southwestern Energy Company, told a live webinar audience this afternoon that “industry” needs to do a better job explaining the value of hydraulic fracking to a pubic with a justifiable interest in knowing if it’s safe for them and their communities, or not.


The program was organized by the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and broadcast via the gotomeeting.com conferencing service starting at 3:00 pm EST on Wednesday, January 23, 2013  It continued until 4:17 pm EST..


Etopia News submitted a written question that seemed to make it to air.  Asked about the availability of technicians with sufficient competence and conscientiousness to successfully manage the complex mechanical systems required by hydraulic fracking to keep it from despoiling the local ambient air and water, Mr. Boling replied that, in certain circumstances, “There is validity to the concern that you might not have the number of qualified people as you would like to have.”


He also said that the qualifications and numbers of inspectors is also an issue.  Providing the funding for adequate inspectorial oversight was seen by him as a key component of that issue.


Other than that, he was pretty sanguine about the utility and safety of hydraulic fracking, and seemed content to see its further expansion in the U.S. and worldwide.


Etopia News’ question about the use of horizontal drilling technology to open up trillions of dollars’ worth of proven petroleum reserves just off the California coast did not make it to air.

The sound quality of the program was loud and clear throughout and the animated graphics very illustrative.

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